A four-hour evening train from Jaipur brought me to Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. But on my first day there I decided to see the Fort, mostly because everyone recommends getting to the Taj early and I was feeling lazy, but also because I thought I should work up to the main event.

Agra Fort – entrance gateway

Agra Fort is a large sixteenth century fortified citadel containing a number of palaces and mosques.

Agra Fort

It was founded by the Moghul Emperor Akbar but brought to its present state by his grandson Shah Jahan, who did some demolishing and adding of buildings.

Agra Fort

Shah Jahan was imprisoned here later in life by his son Aurangzeb (a successful ruler but a religiously intolerant man who I have definitely taken against). The former is said to have died in a beautiful balconied tower with a view down the river to the Taj Mahal, his wife’s mausoleum.

Agra Fort

The UNESCO listing for the fort describes the palaces as “fairy-like”, which is perhaps overstating things (or maybe I have a different view of fairies), but there is some very attractive architectural detail and Shah Jahan’s contributions are lovely, featuring carved and inlaid white marble.

Agra Fort

There are also two rather delightful gold-roofed pavilions which I was much taken with, but am sadly not equipped to replicate in Lego.

Agra Fort

So my choice for the model is this rather pedestrian (in comparison) courtyard facade:

Agra Fort

I took the model out on a sunny day in Seoul but completely forgot to photograph it. So I ended up crouching in a doorway in the driving rain the next day trying (and failing) to get an in-focus shot.